Living Wage Calculation for Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC

The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual in a household must earn to support his or herself and their family. The assumption is the sole provider is working full-time (2080 hours per year). The tool provides information for individuals, and households with one or two working adults and zero to three children. In the case of households with two working adults, all values are per working adult, single or in a family unless otherwise noted.

The state minimum wage is the same for all individuals, regardless of how many dependents they may have. Data are updated annually, in the first quarter of the new year. State minimum wages are determined based on the posted value of the minimum wage as of January one of the coming year (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2019). The poverty rate reflects a person's gross annual income. We have converted it to an hourly wage for the sake of comparison.

For further detail, please reference the technical documentation here.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Living Wage $21.67 $42.80 $56.48 $75.10 $31.39 $38.39 $43.42 $48.64 $15.54 $23.27 $29.89 $37.01
Poverty Wage $6.53 $8.80 $11.07 $13.34 $8.80 $11.07 $13.34 $15.61 $4.40 $5.54 $6.67 $7.81
Minimum Wage $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00 $17.00

Typical Expenses

These figures show the individual expenses that went into the living wage estimate. Their values vary by family size, composition, and the current location.

1 ADULT 2 ADULTS

(1 WORKING)

2 ADULTS

(BOTH WORKING)

0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 0 Children 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children
Food $3,926 $5,795 $8,707 $11,540 $7,198 $8,966 $11,564 $14,071 $7,198 $8,966 $11,564 $14,071
Child Care $0 $13,639 $27,279 $40,918 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $13,639 $27,279 $40,918
Medical $3,037 $9,880 $9,890 $9,816 $6,921 $9,890 $9,816 $9,969 $6,921 $9,890 $9,816 $9,969
Housing $18,199 $21,143 $21,143 $26,797 $18,534 $21,143 $21,143 $26,797 $18,199 $21,143 $21,143 $26,797
Transportation $5,477 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $15,530 $9,851 $12,045 $14,484 $15,530
Civic $3,074 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $7,395 $6,107 $6,821 $9,300 $7,395
Other $4,253 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $10,749 $7,420 $8,755 $9,610 $10,749
Required annual income after taxes $38,097 $73,967 $94,772 $122,595 $56,162 $67,753 $76,047 $84,642 $55,826 $81,392 $103,326 $125,560
Annual taxes $6,985 $15,049 $22,707 $33,605 $9,127 $12,104 $14,273 $16,520 $8,835 $15,393 $21,019 $28,419
Required annual income before taxes $45,082 $89,016 $117,479 $156,200 $65,289 $79,857 $90,320 $101,162 $64,662 $96,785 $124,345 $153,978

Typical Annual Salaries

These are the typical annual salaries for various professions in this location.

Occupational Area Typical Annual Salary
Management $162,084
Business & Financial Operations $107,255
Computer & Mathematical $129,548
Architecture & Engineering $112,161
Life, Physical, & Social Science $115,491
Community & Social Service $66,891
Legal $169,812
Education, Training, & Library $70,132
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, & Media $86,814
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical $89,713
Healthcare Support $38,302
Protective Service $65,810
Food Preparation & Serving Related $33,263
Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance $39,383
Personal Care & Service $36,009
Sales & Related $40,022
Office & Administrative Support $51,996
Farming, Fishing, & Forestry $40,022
Construction & Extraction $56,494
Installation, Maintenance, & Repair $65,733
Production $49,261
Transportation & Material Moving $42,205